Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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28 UCW APRIL 12-18, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Douglas Byrd's J. Hoyt Warren- Wayne Edwards Invitational, probably Cumberland County's oldest Easter baseball tournament, continues its annual run this weekend. The Hoyt-Warren tournament annually draws a mix of local and Cape Fear region teams. This year's event opens Saturday at 10 a.m. with Gray's Creek facing Freedom Christian. Scotland and Seventy-First meet at 1 p.m., followed at 4 p.m. by East Bladen and E.E. Smith. The 7 p.m. game has Douglas Byrd facing Cape Fear. Play continues Monday at the same times, winners advancing against winners and losers against losers. The final round of games will be Tuesday, again at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. • Fayetteville Academy senior Natalie Saunders recently scored a season high competing in the uneven bars, vault and all-around in the USA Gymnastics regional competition. Saunders now advances to the Region 8 competition the second weekend in May. • Village Christian Academy has named former NFL player Emerson Martin as its new head football coach. Martin, a native of Elizabethtown, replaces Russell Stone, who recently left Village to become head coach at Hickory High School. Martin, 46, attended college at Hampton and played briefly for the Carolina Panthers in the NFL. He heads an organization called Players2Pro, which helps high school athletes get recruited and signed by colleges. He's also a former assistant coach at Raleigh Athens Drive, East Bladen and St. Augustine's. This will be his first high school head coaching job. "He's a great leader and great Christian man,'' said Village athletic director Harold Morrison. "We're excited about him taking over the next chapter of Village football.'' • Terry Sanford High School will hold the fourth annual Al Munoz Memorial 5K on Saturday, May 13, at 8 a.m. The entry fee is $25. For entry information and other general race questions, contact Donna Johnson at (910) 728-3702 or jjohn86100@aol.com. • The annual Region Four Coaches and Officials golf tournament is scheduled Sunday, April 23, at Gates Four Golf and Country Club. The tournament benefits the emergency fund sponsored by the coaches and officials which gives money to people facing a variety of personal crises. Check-in is at 11 a.m. with lunch at 11:45 a.m. and play starting at 1 p.m. The fee is $75 per person before April 18 and $85 after. You can also sponsor a hole or tee box for $100. For full information on entry or sponsorship, email Bill Henderson at boatq@aol.com or call (910) 964-0056. Good baseball teams have been a tradition in Terry Sanford High School's annual Easter break tournament. But this year, Bulldog coach Sam Guy may have outdone himself. "It's a really good field,'' Guy said of the three-day event that begins this Saturday at Terry Sanford's field and continues on Monday and Tuesday. Terry Sanford and Jack Britt, both currently leading the chase for conference honors in the Cape Fear Valley 3-A and Mid-South 4-A respectively, head the local entries. The field also includes Southeastern 4-A Conference powers Richmond Senior and Pinecrest. Other teams in the field are South View, Midway, Union Pines and Village Christian. Jack Britt coach Dr. Christopher Dague called the tournament one of the top tier events in the state. "There is a lot of parity,'' he said. "It will be interesting to see how we match up.'' Pitching is crucial to success in any baseball event, but with the new pitching regulations the N.C. High School Athletic Association is using this year, the coaches will have to be careful about how they use their hurlers over the three- day run of the tournament. Terry Sanford has been led by Logan Brown and Damien Puczylowski. Through April 3, Brown is 3-1 and Puczylowski 3-0, Brown's lone loss coming to Richmond Senior. Brown has an ERA of 1.00, Puczylowski 1.20. "They've been the guys that have started Tuesday and Friday for us,'' Guy said. "Christian Jayne has thrown in a couple of big non-conference games. He beat Pinecrest.'' Dague's leading pitchers through April 3 are Zach Knapp and Brennen Herbert. Knapp had a brilliant 17-strikeout performance in a big win over Pine Forest. His ERA as of April 3 was zero. He had a streak of over 30 innings with no earned runs. Herbert's ERA is only 0.38 and his record is 5-0. Here is the tournament schedule: Saturday 10 a.m. Union Pines vs. Midway; 1 p.m. Jack Britt vs. Pinecrest; 4 p.m. Terry Sanford vs. Village Christian; 7 p.m. Richmond Senior vs. South View. Monday 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. Tuesday 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. (championship) Terry Sanford Baseball Team Prepped for Tournament by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Easter Baseball Tournament Continues Its Run by EARL VAUGHAN JR. EARL VAUGHAN JR., Sports Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-987-5311 HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS Natalie Saunders Logan Brown Emerson Martin Attention Students: Do you have a story or idea to share with High School Highligts? Email us at highschoolhighlights@upandcomingweekly.com Zach Knapp